Shawn K. Faguy

Following summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claim against all defendants, the court addressed supplementary costs submissions from a defendant who did not participate in the summary judgment motion and from several third parties added to the litigation by defendants.

The court reviewed the discretionary framework for costs under s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

While plaintiffs are generally not liable for costs incurred by third parties, the court noted that such costs may be ordered where the third party proceedings flowed naturally from the plaintiff’s claim.

The court awarded the non‑participating defendant partial indemnity costs and exercised its discretion to award approximately half of the third parties’ requested costs against the plaintiff.

Following dismissal of a complex multi‑party action on summary judgment, the successful defendants sought costs of the entire action in addition to agreed costs of the summary judgment motion.

The plaintiff argued that costs submissions should be limited to the motion and that delay in bringing the motion inflated the defendants’ legal fees.

The court held that where summary judgment disposes of the entire action, the court may fix costs of the entire proceeding, treating the motion similarly to a trial judgment.

Applying the discretion under s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court reduced the defendants’ claimed partial‑indemnity costs by 25% to align with what would have been the plaintiff’s reasonable expectations in a large and technically complex case.